Marc08EX
10-22-2015, 10:47 AM
Review: Metro Blaster SideKick Professional
Metro Blaster SideKick Professional Series (http://www.autogeek.net/metro-sidekick-professional-series.html)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eupqmbxYNsU/Vihf7cCK9bI/AAAAAAAAIhw/cxuFkCRpP1s/s800-Ic42/1%252520-%252520Sidekick.jpg
Description: (Taken from AG's website)
All the benefits of the regular SideKick plus a flexible 3 foot hose and convenient shoulder strap!
Instead of waiting for your vehicle to dry itself, blast water away with the Metro Blaster SideKick. The compact Blaster SideKick is a hand-held companion to Metro’s popular Air Force Blaster. The SideKick blasts your car or bike dry before water spots form. Hit the road faster with the Blaster SideKick!
The Metro Blaster SideKick is an compact, handheld dryer for motorcycle and car owners because it removes water from places where towels cannot reach. When the vehicle or motorcycle is driven, these water droplets stream down the body panels and leave streaks and spots. The Blaster SideKick eliminates the water in crevices and on body panels before it has time to dry, in order to prevent ugly water spots. The Professional Series features a flexible 3 foot hose and a shoulder strap for added convenience.
Imagine drying your vehicle in just a few minutes without touching it. The Blaster SideKick allows you to dry the vehicle or bike with a large volume of warm, filtered air, which eliminates any direct contact with the paint. The SideKick is a safe and efficient way to dry any vehicle.
The Metro Blaster SideKick weighs just over 3 pounds, making it an excellent travel companion. The SideKick fits into saddlebags or into car trunks so you can blow dry your vehicle or motorcycle when you’re away from home. When prepping for a car show or bike event, the portability of the SideKick is a real asset.
The Blaster SideKick runs on a 1.3 HP motor powered by a 12 inch grounded cord. It includes a rubber neoprene blower nozzle to direct air into tight spaces and an air fan nozzle for drying body panels.
The SideKick is constructed of all steel in the U.S.A. and carries a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.
Don’t give water spots a chance. The Metro Blaster SideKick blasts away water with warm, filtered air to leave your vehicle or bike dry and spot-free.
Price:
$109.99 (on sale)
Introduction:
As a detailing enthusiast, your main goal is to have a swirl free, shiny and glossy finish. You spend all this money buying polishers, compounds, polishes, waxes, coatings, etc and consequently, invest A LOT of time detailing your car. After working extremely hard to perfect your paint, you would normally want to keep it that way.
Swirls are inevitable. There's always a chance you'll inflict swirls on your paint the more you touch it. Yes, you can be more careful by washing your car with the 2 bucket method, making sure you have clean and high quality microfiber towels, etc. What if there's a step in your detailing process where in you don't even touch your paint! Now that will eliminate the chance for swirling in that particular step.
Enter the Metro Vacuum Company... They've been making motorcycle and car dryers for a while now. They have a wide range of car dryers from the 8HP master blaster to the 1.3HP sidekick. These products allow you to blow dry your car with filtered air and as a result, you touch your paint less reducing the chances for swirls.
The Review:
The idea of lessening the chances of swirls is very enticing so when I got a chance, I bought a Master Blaster. I bought this as a birthday present impulsively. I only got to use it once and I was very happy with it because I was extremely excited. But I soon moved to an apartment so I didn't get to use it for like a year and a half. When I was able to move back to a house and have my own garage, I started using the Master Blaster when I have a chance.
The Master Blaster was a very nice and powerful tool. It has 8HP when you turn both motors on and it dries water with ease. It was very cumbersome to use though. The more I used it, the more it became a hassle. You're pulling that thing around and it's quite heavy. To help remedy this, I bought a wall mount and mounted it as close to the garage door as possible. After this, I encountered my next problem. The 10ft hose... It really can't reach the entire car when you park the car in the drive way (while wall mounted). I was using the MB less and less...
I've been seeing the Metro Sidekick for quite sometime now but it never really caught my attention because of the puny 1.3HP rating. But with my various MB woes, I decided to give the Sidekick a shot and boy was I happy I did!!! That's why I'm writing this review.
There is an available standard version of the Sidekick for $89.99 (on sale) if you want a slightly cheaper variant.
Metro Blaster SideKick (http://www.autogeek.net/metro-blaster-sidekick.html)
Here's the accessories that come with the Sidekick Professional Series:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b2Vnwy2Q-u4/Vihf7ZjYCII/AAAAAAAAIiE/qqyty_5ge9E/s800-Ic42/2%252520-%252520Accessories.jpg
As you can see, it comes with a flexible hose, a shoulder strap, 2 attachments and a hook. The professional version gives you 3 extra accessories: The shoulder strap, the flexible hose and the hook.
You can directly connect the 2 attachments to the outlet of the Sidekick directly as shown:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q7NNSgK9MBY/Vihf7qFL90I/AAAAAAAAIhw/jAh2bsty-XU/s800-Ic42/3%252520-%252520Nozzle.jpg
Or you can connect the flexible hose to the outlet of the Sidekick and connect the attachments at the end of the flexible hose as shown:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pFYCbX4x6dU/Vihf8OCRvQI/AAAAAAAAIhw/eT4VZNyhuAQ/s800-Ic42/4%252520-%252520Hose.jpg
Now here's Autogeek's celebrity sporting the Sidekick Pro with the shoulder strap:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/autogeek/sidekick-pro-2.jpg
I'm sure Nick will send me a bill later for his modeling fees LOL!
The extra shoulder strap and the flexible hose makes it more convenient to use. You can just put the Sidekick on your shoulder like how Nick does it and you can point the end of the flexible hose wherever. In my opinion, the $20 extra for the professional series is WORTH IT.
The build quality of this blower is top notch. The metal casing is very hard and sturdy. I think it will survive a lot of drops. The plastic handle is very rigid and mounted very securely. The switch is very industrial looking so I'm sure it will handle a lot of toggles. The switch is also easy to toggle.
The only problem I have with this tool is that air leaks a little in the seam around the middle of the tool. It's not a lot but there is some. I guess Metro can't make a complete seal. That seam is probably for accessing, servicing or repairing the tool.
At the end of the flexible hose, there is a rotating piece that exposes a hole as shown:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iwLDOWUm7K0/Vihf8RoHftI/AAAAAAAAIhw/6YRJw25u6FE/s800-Ic42/6%252520-%252520Power%252520Adjuster.jpg
I think this is for air flow adjustment. You can crank down the airflow output slightly by exposing the hole and you can crank it up slightly by completely covering the hole.
Here's a video I took showing how the Sidekick Professional blows water away. In this video, I was rinseless washing the panel and blow drying it. I had the airflow adjustment hole exposed in this video (I didn't realize that feature until after I shot the video).
Metro Sidekick Demo
Conclusion:
If you want to reduce the chances of swirling in your drying step, you have to consider buying a car blower. Yes, the Metro Master Blaster is a powerful tool and a great choice for this. But using that tool is too cumbersome IMO. I think you should seriously consider the Metro Sidekick when you're considering buying a car blower. It's very convenient to use and still gets the job done. You can carry this tool around the car and dry the entire car with ease. The 1.3HP is adequate for blowing water away from the surface. The build quality is great as well and it's proudly made in the U.S.A.
Metro Blaster SideKick Professional Series (http://www.autogeek.net/metro-sidekick-professional-series.html)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eupqmbxYNsU/Vihf7cCK9bI/AAAAAAAAIhw/cxuFkCRpP1s/s800-Ic42/1%252520-%252520Sidekick.jpg
Description: (Taken from AG's website)
All the benefits of the regular SideKick plus a flexible 3 foot hose and convenient shoulder strap!
Instead of waiting for your vehicle to dry itself, blast water away with the Metro Blaster SideKick. The compact Blaster SideKick is a hand-held companion to Metro’s popular Air Force Blaster. The SideKick blasts your car or bike dry before water spots form. Hit the road faster with the Blaster SideKick!
The Metro Blaster SideKick is an compact, handheld dryer for motorcycle and car owners because it removes water from places where towels cannot reach. When the vehicle or motorcycle is driven, these water droplets stream down the body panels and leave streaks and spots. The Blaster SideKick eliminates the water in crevices and on body panels before it has time to dry, in order to prevent ugly water spots. The Professional Series features a flexible 3 foot hose and a shoulder strap for added convenience.
Imagine drying your vehicle in just a few minutes without touching it. The Blaster SideKick allows you to dry the vehicle or bike with a large volume of warm, filtered air, which eliminates any direct contact with the paint. The SideKick is a safe and efficient way to dry any vehicle.
The Metro Blaster SideKick weighs just over 3 pounds, making it an excellent travel companion. The SideKick fits into saddlebags or into car trunks so you can blow dry your vehicle or motorcycle when you’re away from home. When prepping for a car show or bike event, the portability of the SideKick is a real asset.
The Blaster SideKick runs on a 1.3 HP motor powered by a 12 inch grounded cord. It includes a rubber neoprene blower nozzle to direct air into tight spaces and an air fan nozzle for drying body panels.
The SideKick is constructed of all steel in the U.S.A. and carries a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.
Don’t give water spots a chance. The Metro Blaster SideKick blasts away water with warm, filtered air to leave your vehicle or bike dry and spot-free.
Price:
$109.99 (on sale)
Introduction:
As a detailing enthusiast, your main goal is to have a swirl free, shiny and glossy finish. You spend all this money buying polishers, compounds, polishes, waxes, coatings, etc and consequently, invest A LOT of time detailing your car. After working extremely hard to perfect your paint, you would normally want to keep it that way.
Swirls are inevitable. There's always a chance you'll inflict swirls on your paint the more you touch it. Yes, you can be more careful by washing your car with the 2 bucket method, making sure you have clean and high quality microfiber towels, etc. What if there's a step in your detailing process where in you don't even touch your paint! Now that will eliminate the chance for swirling in that particular step.
Enter the Metro Vacuum Company... They've been making motorcycle and car dryers for a while now. They have a wide range of car dryers from the 8HP master blaster to the 1.3HP sidekick. These products allow you to blow dry your car with filtered air and as a result, you touch your paint less reducing the chances for swirls.
The Review:
The idea of lessening the chances of swirls is very enticing so when I got a chance, I bought a Master Blaster. I bought this as a birthday present impulsively. I only got to use it once and I was very happy with it because I was extremely excited. But I soon moved to an apartment so I didn't get to use it for like a year and a half. When I was able to move back to a house and have my own garage, I started using the Master Blaster when I have a chance.
The Master Blaster was a very nice and powerful tool. It has 8HP when you turn both motors on and it dries water with ease. It was very cumbersome to use though. The more I used it, the more it became a hassle. You're pulling that thing around and it's quite heavy. To help remedy this, I bought a wall mount and mounted it as close to the garage door as possible. After this, I encountered my next problem. The 10ft hose... It really can't reach the entire car when you park the car in the drive way (while wall mounted). I was using the MB less and less...
I've been seeing the Metro Sidekick for quite sometime now but it never really caught my attention because of the puny 1.3HP rating. But with my various MB woes, I decided to give the Sidekick a shot and boy was I happy I did!!! That's why I'm writing this review.
There is an available standard version of the Sidekick for $89.99 (on sale) if you want a slightly cheaper variant.
Metro Blaster SideKick (http://www.autogeek.net/metro-blaster-sidekick.html)
Here's the accessories that come with the Sidekick Professional Series:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b2Vnwy2Q-u4/Vihf7ZjYCII/AAAAAAAAIiE/qqyty_5ge9E/s800-Ic42/2%252520-%252520Accessories.jpg
As you can see, it comes with a flexible hose, a shoulder strap, 2 attachments and a hook. The professional version gives you 3 extra accessories: The shoulder strap, the flexible hose and the hook.
You can directly connect the 2 attachments to the outlet of the Sidekick directly as shown:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q7NNSgK9MBY/Vihf7qFL90I/AAAAAAAAIhw/jAh2bsty-XU/s800-Ic42/3%252520-%252520Nozzle.jpg
Or you can connect the flexible hose to the outlet of the Sidekick and connect the attachments at the end of the flexible hose as shown:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pFYCbX4x6dU/Vihf8OCRvQI/AAAAAAAAIhw/eT4VZNyhuAQ/s800-Ic42/4%252520-%252520Hose.jpg
Now here's Autogeek's celebrity sporting the Sidekick Pro with the shoulder strap:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/autogeek/sidekick-pro-2.jpg
I'm sure Nick will send me a bill later for his modeling fees LOL!
The extra shoulder strap and the flexible hose makes it more convenient to use. You can just put the Sidekick on your shoulder like how Nick does it and you can point the end of the flexible hose wherever. In my opinion, the $20 extra for the professional series is WORTH IT.
The build quality of this blower is top notch. The metal casing is very hard and sturdy. I think it will survive a lot of drops. The plastic handle is very rigid and mounted very securely. The switch is very industrial looking so I'm sure it will handle a lot of toggles. The switch is also easy to toggle.
The only problem I have with this tool is that air leaks a little in the seam around the middle of the tool. It's not a lot but there is some. I guess Metro can't make a complete seal. That seam is probably for accessing, servicing or repairing the tool.
At the end of the flexible hose, there is a rotating piece that exposes a hole as shown:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iwLDOWUm7K0/Vihf8RoHftI/AAAAAAAAIhw/6YRJw25u6FE/s800-Ic42/6%252520-%252520Power%252520Adjuster.jpg
I think this is for air flow adjustment. You can crank down the airflow output slightly by exposing the hole and you can crank it up slightly by completely covering the hole.
Here's a video I took showing how the Sidekick Professional blows water away. In this video, I was rinseless washing the panel and blow drying it. I had the airflow adjustment hole exposed in this video (I didn't realize that feature until after I shot the video).
Metro Sidekick Demo
Conclusion:
If you want to reduce the chances of swirling in your drying step, you have to consider buying a car blower. Yes, the Metro Master Blaster is a powerful tool and a great choice for this. But using that tool is too cumbersome IMO. I think you should seriously consider the Metro Sidekick when you're considering buying a car blower. It's very convenient to use and still gets the job done. You can carry this tool around the car and dry the entire car with ease. The 1.3HP is adequate for blowing water away from the surface. The build quality is great as well and it's proudly made in the U.S.A.